Big Leaf Maple  (Acer macrophyllum) grows in such abundance near the Pacific coast of the United States, there's no shortage of burls to be gleaned from them. (A "burl," for the uninitiated, is a lumpy outgrowth that forms on a tree as a result of parasites or some other type of damage; the wood found within these burls is often spectacularly figured due to the inherently erratic grain.) 
  The kaleidoscopic pattern of swirls common to Big-Leaf Maple Burl makes the species immensely popular among woodturners and carvers, as well as makers of fine furniture, musical instruments, and paneling.  
   The heartwood of Big-Leaf Maple Burl varies in color from light cream to dark brown and, of course, features a haphazard pattern of swirls. Like any burl wood, Big-Leaf Maple Burl can be somewhat difficult to turn because of its unpredictable grain. It does, however, polish very nicely. 
   Big-Leaf Maple takes its name, obviously, from the prodigious size of its leaves — typically about 6 to 12 inches wide. The trees themselves normally grow to heights of about 30 feet and can develop several trunks. One freakishly large Big-Leaf Maple tree in Oregon reportedly has a trunk diameter of nearly 12 feet and is 101 feet tall. (Imagine the size of the burls on that tree!)

Half log of Big Leaf Maple Burl